(S01E01) Look, I'm going to just cut to the chase: You should be watching this show. Well, let me add a caveat to that. If you don't mind watching people get eviscerated, you should be watching this show. I put this on my DVR because it was new, but I didn't know much about it. Just watching the pilot, though, has got me totally hooked.
I love horror movies, and this is basically a thirteen-episode horror movie. It doesn't pull any punches either. Harper's Island isn't like most TV shows, where minor characters get killed off and the main cast always manages to survive: at least one character will be killed off each week. In the pilot episode, we had two deaths. Suffice it to say, they did not go quietly in their sleep.
Warning: Spoilers about who dies in the pilot are ahead.
Granted, Harper's Island isn't the most intellectually thrilling television I've ever watched, but it's fun -- in a gruesome sort of way. There are a lot of cheesy soap opera elements thrown in, that I'm guessing are just red herrings. The whole thing with Trish's dad calling her old boyfriend Hunter to try to break up the wedding is just tedious. We get it. He doesn't want his daughter marrying the guy who cleaned their yacht. It's a tired storyline, and it doesn't make me think that either Hunter or her dad has anything to do with the murders.
As tedious as some of the subplots are (Abby's whole homecoming thing isn't much better), Harper's Island totally makes up for it with the sheer badassery of the murders that take place. Their cousin gets his face torn off by a boat propeller. Come on! What's more, the killer outfitted him with SCUBA gear so that he can spend a while tied to the boat just waiting to die.
The other hardcore death comes to Harry Hamlin, who awesomely plays Uncle Marty, Henry's surrogate father who was set up to be a pretty important character on the show. He's walking across a bridge and gets his entire lower half cut off! It's pretty horrifying -- and pretty amazing.
If you're a horror buff who enjoys blood and gore, this is the show for you. I doubt the show is going to get less gruesome as it goes on. However, if senseless violence and entrails really aren't your thing, you should steer clear. For my part, I'm planning on enjoying the next 12 weeks.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-11-2009 @ 6:46PM
Richard Lawler said...
I gotta disagree. Even the gore doesn't make up for the boring soap opera elements. Most daytime soaps currently on are much better written.
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4-11-2009 @ 6:55PM
shadowracer said...
It was soapy because they need to get the audience to think "well maybe the killer is so and so". Hopefully it will get more lean as the field gets thinned out.
As for the gore, there is no gore. The fact that you can't see any of the violence makes it more violent - take that Saw franchise.
It's only 13 episodes so it's not a big investment. I'll definitely be tuning in again.
4-11-2009 @ 7:43PM
MCW said...
I'm not going to read the rundown yet, but I just wanted to let everyone know that they're already putting the episodes on Netflix Watch Instantly, so even if you're too lazy to DVR it, you can still watch it on there!
I haven't seen the first ep. yet, and I realize everyone is going to hate it as they do Fear Itself (Which I loved), but I don't really care about you other goons.
In Fangoria, the writers stated that if it was successful, they would make more seasons of the show, and I believe they even mentioned possibly a movie version.
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4-11-2009 @ 8:59PM
DapperDan said...
I'm sticking with the show I gotta find out who the killer is and why they are killing. In Soaps it is usually the person you'd least expect so here with Harper's Island, I am going with the wedding planner Maggie Krell as the killer hey maybe she's related to John Wakefield the murderer 7years prior killing is in there blood so to speak
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4-11-2009 @ 9:45PM
CParis said...
I caught it on Comcast OnDemand. I like the limited number of episodes format -as long as they air all of them!
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4-11-2009 @ 9:46PM
JW said...
I wasn't too impressed either. I was expecting something freaky and more blood and guts; you know like something out of Friday the 13th; or at least something CSI:-ish. When the last guy got his legs chopped off I was expecting the worse and they just made a shadow of him. I will be watching it just to see whodunit, but too soapy.
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4-11-2009 @ 11:04PM
Brent Schmidt said...
This sure doesn't look like a shadow to me...
http://i39.tinypic.com/ilep0n.jpg
4-12-2009 @ 12:57AM
CParis said...
The dead bodies hanging in the moss-covered tree was freaky? I like that it's not a gorefest like CSI - don't need an another autopsy show.
4-12-2009 @ 12:01AM
Will said...
Well, I really liked it but then I knew I would. I knew just from the ads, just like Lost, in 2004, I knew from the print ads that I would like that show and I've watched every episode since. I have a few theories on who the killer might be, but nothing solid yet. I will enjoy the ride!
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4-12-2009 @ 2:47PM
Xploited13 said...
For a pilot, this was terribly disjointed and woefully pointless. What's there to expect from future episodes? I only checked it out after this review, and I'm going to disagree with it now.
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4-13-2009 @ 8:32AM
Dan said...
I was so disappointed to see Hamlin gone in just one ep. He was the coolest part of this show!
I'll still be tuning in for the rest of the series.
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4-14-2009 @ 12:41PM
laura said...
I actually liked it, i am a horror movie fanatic and enjoy the mystery of a good kill, you dont need to see everything really, just know what is coming, or what just happened.
I will continue to watch it for sure.
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4-16-2009 @ 2:47AM
meg4fancast said...
I like it too! It's entertaining. Fancast hosts a chat with the recently deceased person from Harper's Island every Friday at 1pm EST. Check it out- http://www.fancast.com/blogs/tv-news/live-chat-with-harpers-island-newly-dead/
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4-17-2009 @ 11:03PM
Michelle said...
Seriously, nobody is going to mention that Katie Cassidy and Jim Beaver are on it, and that alone makes it worth watching? Come on, where's the Supernatural love? Btw, new episodes of Supernatural start back up April 23. If you really want creepy, horror movie-ish thrills and good writing and a fascinating story arc, then add Supernatural. Of course, I enjoyed this first episode of Harper's Island and will continue to watch it, but it can't stand up to the beauty that is Supernatural.
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4-17-2009 @ 7:32PM
TristNMS said...
HEY EVERYONE....the first episod was great. So reminded me "Murder is Small Town X" Now if our sister station will hurry up and getting a strong signal since they decided to go digital the DAY BEFORE THE SECOND EPISODE..I will be happy")
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4-17-2009 @ 9:50PM
SarahI said...
This show is like a "Lifetime" movie...a 13-hour long one, at that.
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